


A Song

by Grumpyhugs



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: ........yeah, Ambigious female WoL, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, I cannot believe I'm writing a domestic AU yall., Shadowbringers Spoilers, domestic AU, ffxiv 5.0 spoilers, like I never write fluff and this is... fluffy as hell, like stupid levels of fluffy, no reading if you're not done the story, this happens after the ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2020-07-24 21:09:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20021077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grumpyhugs/pseuds/Grumpyhugs
Summary: Emet-Selch is full of surprises.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My friend Rhae gave me an idea - she had an idea that he should be able to play the piano and linked me a song she thought he'd be able to play annnddd I got inspired. So a huge thanks to Rhae for this idea. :) Context is after the final battle and the WoL returns to their home in the Mist. Ambiguous WoL is ambiguous but, sorry, my favorite Ward is the Mist! 
> 
> Here is the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4G4b6hSPdQ
> 
> Also AFTER I was done writing this I learned we don't actually have pianos in FFXIV but TOO BAD IT'S ALREADY DONE. Usually I'm a stickler for that kind of stuff but IT'S DONE. Enjoy!

The door creaked open loudly, the lack of use made apparent through the awful drawn out noise. 

How long had it been since she had last been here? A year, maybe two? Time's passing was becoming increasingly difficult to track now that she was making regular trips to the First. Thinking about it made her head hurt sometimes. 

He chuckled softly beside her, amused at the heavy sigh that escaped her once she closed the door behind them.

"So all this is yours? I didn't take you for someone who would want for this." Emet-Selch, no... _Hades_ scanned the mansion's main hall with an amused smirk.

Twelve forbid he would say anything that wasn't just dripping with sarcasm or mildly condescending. She sighed again, and he placed a gloved hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "I jest, I jest. T'is… Quaint, compared to the Imperial Palace. Perhaps I will find it a pleasant change?"

"Oh, the pampered Emperor has to live like a _savage_. How terrible for you." She grins up at him, meeting his tone from earlier in kind. Now it was his turn to sigh.

But after the sigh, he matches the playful jab, "Oh, woe is me" he lifts the hand from her shoulder above his forehead, making a mockery of fainting as he slumps his shoulders slightly, " _whatever_ will I do without my servants and my-"

She swats his arm gently before he really goes off. "The Maelstrom actually did send people to tidy up before I got back. And cook… and so on... I'm never here, so…"

He raises an eyebrow, "Too busy saving the world and all that, hero?" 

"Gods don't start calling me that again. Ugh."

He laughs softly, and while they could stay there all night going back and forth, he is the one to suggest a quick tour. 

He would never admit it, but he wants to see what she does with a space of her own. What would he find, hidden away from the eyes of everyone else? 

As Solus zos Galvus, he'd admittedly collected frivolous things. But then, he'd been an Emperor and had long grown bored with the world as it was. Having riches above and beyond what a lonely adventurer ever had meant he could have whatever he very well wanted. But she was not an Empress. 

Did she collect tokens of her many adventures? How many ancient ruins did she visit and keep mementos from? She was friends with every single Leader of the Eorzean Alliance; would they gift unto her riches? Would she _accept_ them?

He followed her, inspecting every inch of the mansion he walked through. She had begun talking about how she disliked decorating, how it was far out of her comfort zone to dictate what looked pleasant or not. What if she had guests and they thought she had no style? 

He laughs softly, "Well, I could help."

She blinks in surprise and looks at him for a moment, then, "Maybe."

Her answer is unexpected, he merely shrugs to hide the surprise he feels. 

She goes back to talking about the mansion - as she starts showing him rooms. Many of them are simply guest rooms with some beds, a bit of furniture and little more. He asks who she would house with this, and she says servants were welcome to sleep here. 

She was always kind like that.

There is one question he wants to ask that tugs at his curiosity, but he waits for the right moment. For now, he follows her to what she calls the trophy room - that, her friends insisted she have. She leads him down a set of stairs, to what must be the basement. The trophy room is far from where it should be for the desired effect of one. 

She was always modest, too. 

"I don't much care for it, honestly. It feels like I'm _physically_ gloating. Worse yet was when I started receiving things from fans! The worst thing I got was-"

One thing in the back of the room catches his eye, and all the attention that was focused on listening to her evaporates; an idea pops into his mind and he grins.

She stops when he makes his way to the grand piano she was given after her time in Haukke manor. With a tilt of her head, she speaks, watching him walk to it, "Do you want to know how I got it? I could never, ever hope to play the thing…"

He hums approvingly, still with his eyes locked to the piano. Once he reaches it, he begins to inspect it; running his gloved hand along the wooden frame and leaning closer into it.

"After I liberated Haukke Manor from the Lady… who… Well, let's just say she turned into some kind of Voidsent after doing horrific things…" She pauses for a reaction, and he gives a 'mhm' - he's still listening. 

"After I defeated her, the Order of the Twin Adder recovered whatever they could. They asked if I wanted anything, y'know, Slayer of Ifrit and all that apparently gets-"

She stops when he sits down on the bench accompanying it and lifts the cover over the keys, watching him.

A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, that smile he always sports when he speaks in that overly confident tone. When he would speak to her of things she had never known of the world that came before - and yet, it was so much softer this time. He turns to her, and it widens, and then… He plays.

The song he plays begins slow, just a few keys in repetition. It warms her heart, it is soft and calming, slow and beautiful still. She had never truly been one to appreciate the arts, there was never _time_ to do so in her busy life. 

And yet here she was, sharing her new experience with Hades. The thought crosses her mind, that it is with an Ascian, of all things, but it fades when the song suddenly changes. 

He is playing faster now, his fingers gliding across the keys - the song remains gentle and with a hint of sadness to it, but now more uplifting. Like remembering happier times even through sorrow. It brings a sad smile to her face. 

And then, with what must be the song's peak, she gasps as a white light strikes her vision.

She sees images- no, flashes of… _memories_ -

Two robed people, like the shades that walk the ruins of Amaurot, stand together, hand in hand, but there is a black nothingness that surrounds them. She pushes against the memory, _what lay beyond them, why can I not see the room-_

The memory snaps for but a second, another burst of white covers her vision- but she hears a voice, of who or what is speaking, she cannot be sure. It sounds feminine, in that strange but familiar singsong voice the shades spoke to her in. Yet, the Echo cannot help her hear it. 

Then another answers the first, and this time even though it is in that language she cannot speak, she knows who it belongs to. 

"Of course, my dear. How about your favorite, hm?" Hades answers, in a tone laced with _love._ Even with a mask on, something tells her he smiles as he speaks.

The Amaurotine that must be him raises a hand and _snap-_

White floods her vision, and Hades is looking at her with a sad, knowing smile across the room, still hitting keys, still playing that lovely song even as she disappeared for that moment - lost in _something_ that she knew she once had…

He plays the last part of the song, his eyes never leaving her, and she _knows_ now it is the ending, because he's played it before-

The song ends, and his smile never leaves his lips.

"I hope I may find other ways to help you _remember_ , my dear."

She thinks on it a moment, before she knows what her answer will be. There was no magic involved here like the memory she saw. He _learned_ this, and for what? She had a million questions for him, now. And yet…

With a smile to match his, she says...

"I look forward to it, Hades."

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Warrior surprises him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was going to be a under 1k words like the previous chapter but UUHHH YEAH WE'RE A DOMESTIC AU NOW LADS
> 
> I literally had an epiphany at work after writing this out on my phone before my shift like
> 
> "Wow I can't wait to post my little oneshot late- ....... Oh god I'm writing some sort of domestic AU thingy, aren't I? I'M DOING THIS? I'M ACTUALLY DOING THIS...? YEAH. YEAH I'M DOING IT." 
> 
> So heres me doing it
> 
> Also this may get bumped to E later 
> 
> wink wonk

_“Try it!_ Please? _”_

_Hades batted away the pastry she was so desperately trying to shove at him... again. However, Persephone was persistent. She pouted at him, her lips thinning in mock irritation and her arms crossing over her chest after putting the muffin on the table._

_She was incredibly cute when she pouted, he admitted to himself. A smirk crept along his own lips in response, and it only made her just a bit more irate._

_“C’mon! I spent an hour cooking them, you could at least take a bite! It’s blueberry, you_ like _blueberry!”_

_He did, but it was far more amusing to play coy and make her work for this. The way her lips pursed when she pouted, her cheeks puffing up ever so slightly in mock annoyance- She batted at his arm again, never hurting him of course, just playing along as always._

_She was the only person to see this side of him. The gentle teasing, the bouts of mischief they could play out together. In the public eye, he could never behave like so. His title a heavy weight upon his shoulders to the people of Amaurot - but in their own private little home that he had built for them, he could let go…_

_She laughed ever so softly, bringing a hand to cover her mouth before wrapping her arms around his torso and squeezing gently, her eyes bright purple looking up to meet his own pale gold ones, “C’mon, tell me what you think. I added a bit more sugar this time, I know you like sweets.”_

_He swept a stray lock out of her face, her braid slowly having a few rebellious strands coming undone after a long hour of fighting the forces of baking and running around the kitchen, “Very well, I shall acquiesce this time, as I am your little testing subject…”_

_She scoffed and and huffed, but grabbed the muffin again and held it up to his face, watching and waiting with a smile for him to take a bite. He wouldn’t admit it - didn’t have to, as she of course already knew each and every one of his preferences, his desires, his dislikes - entwined as their souls were, but yes, he did love his sweets. How lucky he was to have a wife who would indulge such silly things…_

_“Hades?” She nudged his stomach with her elbow._

_“Mm?”_

_“Wake up, Hades.”_

_What?_

_She nudged a little harder this time, it hurt just a little bit-_

_“Hades, wake up!”_

* * *

“Old man! Wakey wakey!” 

Something was hitting his chest, and when he opened his eyes, still ever so groggy after this rude awakening, he was met with a pair of purple ones staring down at him in mild annoyance.

“Oh _finally._ I swear you sleep like a dead person. C’mon, we gotta go!” She very much leapt off of him, he registered, and ran out the door of the bedroom he had fallen asleep in… After… 

Right. She had him _drinking_ with her last night, the headache that made itself known as he began to sit up quickly reminded him that. ‘ _Celebration_ ’, she called it, for finally getting a break and returning ‘ _home_ ’. 

How in Zodiark’s name was she not hungover, too? She’d drank just as much as he did-

“Get up get up get up! I have some errands to do and you’re going to help!” 

_What._

He blinked a couple of times to get the last of the fog of sleep out of his system and rubbed at his eyes, before shouting back at her - she was rummaging around something in the other room, he could hear it - “What do you mean, _help_?” 

His answer was being thrown some manner of clothing, some landed on the bed and some on him. After throwing off what was some black shirt off his face, his eyes locked on to hers again as she stood at the foot of the bed, her neck craned and eyes darting down to the clothes, then back up at him.

“Try those on, I didn’t know your measurements when I bought them so hopefully it fits.” 

And then she ran out the room, again.

_Oh, for the love of…_

"I do still have _magic_ , my dear! I don't need to have clothing bought-" 

He was interrupted by her hand wrapping onto the door frame, and her head peering into the room, cheeks puffed up and lips pursed like- 

_So very much like…_

And still he could not resist her, with a heavy sigh he picked up the shirt she had thrown onto him; some cotton material dyed black with long sleeves, and buttons near the top to create a V for his neck and chest. Upon his legs remained the rest of the outfit, at a quick glance he saw some leather leggings and a leather jacket to accompany it. No doubt he'd find some boots somewhere too.

Quite unlike anything he'd ever wear as Emperor, really. It looked more like some adventuring gear than anything - on the fancier side of course, but adventuring wear nonetheless. He didn't _really_ expect her to share his tastes in attire, but the gesture was not lost on him. 

"This… is… Nice. Thank you, dear."

She rolled her eyes and huffed a loud sigh, he wasn't exactly _trying_ hard to mask his… disappointment. "You can't walk around in your Emperor get-up, Hades. You need to blend in now. This is the best way to do it - you'll be my adventuring buddy and none will be the wiser!"

She flashed him a wicked grin in contrast to his look of absolute bewilderment.

"Adventuring… _buddy_." He said flatly.

"Mhm! Or just y'know," she snapped her fingers to imitate him, "Make some, I guess. But… I _did_ buy those for you…"

Was she _really_ about to guilt trip him? The sad, puppy eye look she was currently giving him meant: yes, she absolutely was. He ran his hand through his hair before letting it fall onto his lap and, gave in, throwing off his thin nightshirt and looking up at her.

The wide smile and tiny noise of joy she made, the way her soul - no matter how small it was right now - lit up with happiness for that brief moment, was worth it.

_The things he would do for that woman…_ And, maybe this one, too. 

She left him to change in privacy, and when he had manually put on all the clothing - including boots she had left by the bed - they actually did all fit. When he left the room he shouted for her, but was met with some muffled yelling.

She wasn't entirely proficient at it yet, but she _was_ learning, and what better way to learn than through practice? He reached for her soul with his own, ever so slowly, gently brushing hers as if to say _where are you?_

Of course, he could tell where she was - two rooms down to the left, but he wanted to see if she could answer. 

It took a few seconds, but what came through were emotions pertaining to a sense of urgency, rushing, hurry hurry hurry-

_Well,_ now he _had_ to go see what was going on. At least _something_ came through, too. She was trying.

He knocked on the corresponding door and heard something fall over in the room… What _was_ she doing?

"Not ready yet!" Came more muffled yelling. He sighed and leaned his back against the wall adjacent to the door, "Are you wrangling some stray monster in there?" He called out, dripping with sarcasm.

"Getting dressed! Also!" Another sound of something falling over, and some muffled cursing, "Can you like, glamour yourself to look like someone else? Not many Garleans about in Limsa and I don't think we should risk someone recognizing you!"

She had a fair point. His status as _very much alive_ was still hidden even to her Scion friends, and even though she said one day she would tell them, the rest of the world needn't know yet either. If at all, perhaps. Solus zos Galvus was dead in every way, now. No need to bring him back - nor Emet-Selch.

There was a part of him that was glad of that, too. No more pretending to be someone he wasn't… Well, at least with her. He didn't truthfully care _too_ much for her Scion friends, particularly the angry Hyur; what was his name again? Something Fred? Then again, should he truly blame the man, who'd been possessed by Lahabrea? 

Oh, look. He was _sentimental._ Gods, what was she doing to him? Making him think of what poor Fred felt.

Thankfully the door opened next to him, and out she stepped, beautiful as ever. 

Her hair wild and free from the usual ponytail or braid she carried it in. Black locks that ran past her shoulders, nearly down the length of her back - and a white lily wound in her hair at the top with some clip. She wore what must be the closest thing she had to a summer dress, a frilly form-tight white dress that went down to just above her knees, with some leather sandals to accompany it. There was a faint rattle of jewelry on her wrist as she ran a hand through her bangs - some silvery bracelets, and a necklace made of a tough black string, carrying a round sapphire. 

He'd _never_ seen her in anything but her adventuring gear; which usually ranged from battlemage robes to heavy armours, depending on what she was fighting. By Zodiark that little dress left nothing to the imagination, he could make out-

"Are you going to start drooling or something, Hades?"

She broke him out of what he quickly realized was _open admiring,_ and he coughed loudly to very quickly move on- "Whatever are you going on about?"

She of course, thought this was hilarious and _laughed._ He felt heat rush to his cheeks and looked away; how in the void did this woman manage _this…_

"Also I guess I shouldn't call you Hades in public? Got a name and look you wanna go with?" She hooked her arm in with his own and tugged ever so lightly, "Let's go to Limsa first, too. There's some stuff I gotta pick up there, and we can go get some cakes there! You ever been? There's this little stand run by a couple who make _the best_ blueberry pie."

Of course.

Of course she would want him to try that.

He did not hide the smile that spread across his face - the kind that was sad and happy at the same time, and she must have caught it, too, as she gave his arm a gentle, reassuring squeeze. Her brow furrowed ever so slightly, too, as his very soul felt the lightest brush from hers of _reassurance, fondness, love._

Best to move on before he did something he hadn't done in millenia: cry.

"I've not been, no. The pirate city, is it? Are you taking me out _shopping_?"

She grinned and squeezed again before smiling at him, "I'd like to think of it as a _date._ I've never had one before, so…"

He laughed, blinking a few times to get rid of any traces of oncoming tears. _A date._

He could get used to this.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> Also I said it was going to be an ambiguous fem WoL but I started imaging a lil Au Ra lady because H E I G H T D I F F E R E N C E 
> 
> I will try to stay ambiguous but yeah, just throwing that out there!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which WoL is an expert gatherer
> 
> In a few ways!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may start trying to take prompts after the next chapter and like I said, I will eventually try to add some... smut... But it will be baby's first smut attempt so... YEAH we'll see how that goes. 
> 
> I had some issues writing this out cause I initially wanted it to be an actual date, but, no reveal yet to the world so... He'd have to hide anyway and it wouldn't be AN ACTUAL date if he's hiding, yeah? SO... I may write one later.

She had  _ definitely _ tricked him.

He really had to hand it to her. True, he enjoyed every minute of their little date - chatting the morning away with little cakes and decadent food - he discovered she loved tea, too, and filed that away for later. The only problem was that they had to forego using his real name, which, he wouldn’t quite admit it to her just yet, utterly disappointed him. How many years did he wait to hear it upon her lips again? At least a few hours wasn’t too painful.

Chatting the morning away, he learned many things about her; saw little quirks she had while eating and speaking as well. She picked at her food when she was deep in thought. Sometimes, she’d twirl a strand of hair in her fingers as she spoke, eyes alit with joy as she gazed at him and talked the day away. Amusingly, she also ate her pastries first. Another habit she had apparently never gotten rid of in all these years - the soul remembers what the mind forgets, he mused. 

Still… as lovely as the morning was, she  _ actually  _ tricked him into this. He completely forgot about the 'errand' part of this outing. He could blame it on the hangover, right?

During his time in the First with her, while he was still  _ very  _ Tempered, he had admittedly, pegged her as a little bit ... dim. Fumbling her way through her journey to the salvation of the First: literally  _ winging it.  _ Especially after the time with the Night's Blessed and her ludicrous idea (though it was quite funny) to yell _ kupo _ at the men and women holding them at arrow point.

He had made a show of being disappointed at her, but after safely teleporting away to watch, he had to bite back the urge to smile and laugh. It was something  _ she  _ would've done back then.

_ Had  _ basically done before. In Convocation meetings no less…

But that was part of why he adored her so.

That was also how he really didn't see this coming. They had decided on a persona for him to walk around with in public (for now): an Elezen man named Emmanellain. She wasn't too creative about it, but incase a slip up happened she could get away with it… mostly. One of her Ishgardian friends had that name, but it was the closest she could think of that was close enough to ‘Emet’. 

Plus, being Ishgardian would neatly cover up him being unknown to Limsa. Her Scion friends may catch on now that the ones left in the Source were in communication with those in the First, via the fairy king of all things... Though that was hopefully a fair ways away still.

Which led him to another thought; she had ‘friends’  _ everywhere _ .

Nearly everyone they spoke to (well more like she spoke with, he just stood around waiting for them to finish) with knew her in some way - if it wasn't because of her title, it was something she had personally done for them in the past.

He had kind of forgotten she had very much risen from the lowly rank of adventurer to  _ savior of the world _ status.  _ Oops. _

Which made it all the more annoying when they were  _ shopping _ and all the shopkeepers were chatting her up.

_ Every. Single. Stall.  _

She had him carrying old, woven bags of things she was buying, mostly ingredients for something she wouldn't tell him about. He caught on after she bought a bunch of eggs from some Qiqirn vendor, (who  _ also  _ launched into some story about how she had bought eggs from him before - why would she need to buy eggs from him…?) and then a multitude of other meats and herbs… Some of the shop keeps commented on how  _ adorable  _ they were together and how kind it was of him to help her out; she needed to relax after all the hard work she does!

He  _ almost  _ had to bite back the urge to gag. 

Was she planning on feeding an army, too? The bags were getting  _ heavy _ and she wasn't ready to teleport back home yet. His arms were tired - he may be an ancient, all powerful being but this vessel definitely wasn’t! He was almost debating telling her that he wanted to go back home (when did he consider her place ‘home’?) until she  _ finally  _ finished chatting up the Qiqirn and turned to him.

“Okay, let’s head back and dump the stuff off and then I need to go to… the Western Highlands for some-”

“ _ In Coerthas?” _ For some  _ what?  _ Snow? 

She nodded with a positively radiant smile on her face and began the spell to teleport them back to her home; and before he could even open his mouth to ask why, she disappeared in a flash of blue aether. He latched onto her remaining aether and followed suite with a heavy sigh, what else could she possibly need? From Coerthas, no less?! 

The answer came in the form of  _ tea leaves  _ and a multitude of even  _ more  _ vegetables. How did she even remember where everything was? Worse, she was gathering it herself! In the time between him following her teleport spell and arriving, she had already swapped into some gatherer’s outfit, axe in hand, and told him to drop the bags off in the kitchen and follow. And then she teleported them straight into the snowy hell of Coerthas! 

He was weakened after their battle in Amaurot, sure, but even he uttered a silent prayer that he could still create some warmer clothes for the harsh winds of Coerthas. She had completely forgotten to give him something else this time - or maybe she knew he’d do it himself? Hells, she barely had bundled up. Was she crazy? 

Was she hoping he’d conjure up something for her? Zodiark give him strength. 

Once he appeared at the Aetheryte she had taken them to, she of course, was already saddling up some Chocobo and waving him over. Couldn’t really have him flying her around - so, the next best thing was one of those damned birds. They defied all laws of reality - a bird built that way wasn’t meant to ever fly, but the damned thing did fly. Stubborn, like she always was. Fitting that her Creations followed after their Creator… 

He really needed to tell her that they were in fact, something she herself had Created so long ago. How would she react, he wondered, if he told her just how many of her Creations still persisted in this fragmented world she loved? The answer was simple - she would love it all the more, but perhaps he would tell her, to see her soul glow as it always did when she was overjoyed… 

Sentimentality aside and train of thought completely interrupted by the squawking of said Creation as they, apparently landed - she set to inspect some foliage nearby. He already knew the drill and stepped over, holding the little bag up for her as he did in Limsa. 

There were many things he had done in the thousands of lifetimes he walked this new world, but even he had to admit he had never really… gathered his own food like this. Why would he, when he could just conjure it with a snap of his fingers? 

She had started to hack away at some branches and pull off the leaves from the plant, then turned to see him already behind her, waiting. There was a brief flash of surprise on her face before she shrugged and tossed a few leaves in the bag. 

“Wanna see what I’m doing?” She asks. He huffs an amused noise, but leans over. And there is that bright little shimmer from her soul… 

She smiles before launching into what leaves to look for, and how to tell how old the plant is - the bigger leaves will make your tea a little more bitter, while the smaller ones will make it taste another way - she takes her time showing him the colours of the plant, the shape of the leaves and why it grows that way. She asks him to pick some so he can try to make his own tea and learn what it tastes like, too.

The irony isn’t lost upon him. She, a mortal being of barely a few decades - teaching him, an ancient immortal from time immemorial, who was there when her soul was  _ making  _ these very things she now so passionately spoke of. Her chocobo had wandered over, no doubt curious to what his master was doing, and she affectionately pat his beak and gave him a few leaves to eat. Hades too, offered some leaves to the bird who happily took them, a happy  _ kweh  _ coming from it to show it’s delight at the treat. 

Alright, maybe he could get used to the bird. Maybe he could also get used to learning a few mortal things, too.    
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was all the stuff for?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3

****

He was now convinced she was cooking for an army. 

She fluttered about the kitchen, running from one end to the other, pulling ingredients from the cupboards and shelves as she stopped to check on the bread she had put in one oven earlier. The loaf had already risen, and now she was waiting for that perfect golden brown finish. Another oven held chocolate chip cookies. She had just put them in, placing her hands on her hips and huffing a stray strand of hair out of her face - and then back to the soup she was starting on the stove top. 

He knew she had stamina unrivaled to most mortals, but it made his head spin with how she whirled about the kitchen - flitting from one end to the other, always moving from one thing to the next. Should he help or would he get in the way? He’d been practically perched at the kitchen table, watching her from one of the wooden chairs, mesmerized. 

This wasn’t new to him, really. His wife had often cooked for the both of them the old fashioned way, and he would watch her delicately prepare the meals and help with whatever he could. Often, he needed to  _ ask _ to help as her recipes needed to be followed to the letter and she was incredibly meticulous and picky; though she would always let him put just a bit more icing or sugar in the pastries. 

She learned not to let him near spices after that one time he put a bit too much pepper in the vegetable soup. He smirked at the amusing memory, she’d turned absolutely red in the face once she’d gotten a spoonful of it, and while it didn’t bother  _ him,  _ he didn’t mind a bit of a kick to his food, she was not happy at having her taste buds ruined. He had to promise her it wasn’t intentional and apologize for quite a while about it, too. 

Though he wondered if he should ask the woman he was coming to love here and now if his help was welcome. She darted from corner to corner of the kitchen in a whirl of activity, stopping at the counter to chop some more of the vegetables she had bought in Limsa. 

Well, even if she wouldn’t want him making anything, he could at least stir the pot and check on things? He cleared his throat to get her attention, smiling as her soul sparked at the noise. She glanced over her shoulder, stopping her chopping and looking at him. “Is there something I can do to help you, my dear?” 

Her eyes lit up in surprise for a moment, and then a smile spread across her lips. She motioned to the stove top with a quick tilt of her head, “I’m gonna toss these onions in the pot, pour some oil in and stir, please.” The chopping took her attention back from him, and he got up and made his way to the stove. It was much more rudimentary than what they had in Amaurot, but it was close enough. A jug that must have been the oil was left on the countertop next to the stove, a quick pull of the cork confirmed it was oil. He removed his gloves and rolled up the sleeves of his coat, tossing them onto the table he had just left. 

He felt just a slight brush of her  _ watching  _ him, and he turned to see that she was studying him, a thoughtful expression on her face. She smacked her lips together and pointed at him, “Should probably get rid of the poofy coat, we’re cooking after all, love.” 

_ We?  _ He thought happily.

But it was a fair point. A simple snap of his fingers replaced the coat with a quick copy of what she was wearing, tailored for his own size, of course. And less pink. Some simple Culinarian garb, an apron over it and minus the usual ridiculous hats they wore. She shot him another smile and a nod of approval before going back to chopping again, now moving on to carrots. 

He poured the oil and set the stove to heat up with another snap, this one didn’t have any knobs with fire crystals. The fire needed to be created manually with this one. Mayhap he should try to build her one that was less… primitive. 

He leaned over the pot, waiting for the oil to be hot enough to call her over - though he didn’t need to, she was already bringing over her chopped onion in a bowl and dumping it in. The smell was lovely, but he remembered full well what happens when you cook onions. He took a step back so the fumes wouldn’t get into his eyes, unfortunately she was already sniffling and rubbing at her eyes. She weathered it and stirred, but he told her to go rinse her eyes out and he’d take care of it. He kept his eyes shut tightly the whole time and listened for her return, stirring the onions frequently to keep them from sticking. She giggled behind him and he opened one eye to look - and it didn’t sting so he opened the other once he realized it was safe - and she dumped in a variety of other ingredients. Carrots, mushrooms, celery and so on. 

“Let it cook for a bit then we’ll add some of the spices I bought, it’s just a simple vegetable soup so I’m not adding meat.” And then she was off to pull the finished bread from the oven, placing it on the counter to cool. A quick glance was given to the cookies that still weren’t ready.

She had bought some meat though, and he wondered what it was for. The chicken and lamb cuts were still in the coldbox. He wasn’t going to wonder for long as she was already pulling out the chicken, rolling her sleeves back up and grabbing another knife after placing the chicken by the cutting board.

He watched her begin to slice it into cubes, then chop it even smaller, stopping to bunch it up into a ball as best she could before loudly cutting it again. Meat wasn’t easy to cut like this, so he had to ask… “You don’t ask me to just… Snap it chopped for you, why?” 

She stopped but didn’t turn around, like she was contemplating asking now that he told her he  _ could  _ do it, but shrugged and went back to loudly fighting the chicken cubes. “Cause, I’m  _ making  _ it, not cheating.” 

He huffed, “It’s not  _ cheating _ .” 

“But it kinda is,” She exhaled loudly as she finally finished her little battle with the chicken, now grabbing what he recognized was a grinder of sorts for meat. “I have all these things anyway and,” She grabbed a handful of the mess of chicken and stuffed it in, grabbed a bowl and started turning the handle. “I enjoy cooking, it’s part of the fun. Making it then eating it. Besides,” 

Now she finally turned to him, still smiling and a look of delight across her face, “I know just how the twins love their chicken sandwiches.”

Wait.

Realization hit him.

_ “Oh no.”  _ It wasn’t for an army, it was for-

“ _ Oh yes.”  _ She echoed, and suddenly her smile was  _ just _ a little bit more sinister. 

****  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She trapped him and he realizes he's gonna have to meet the rest of the family now 
> 
> This was meant as a one shot kinda thing but it's kinda evolved and still evolving sooo... Yeah. More to come! You can guess what happens neeexxxttt.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick visit to the First

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this sitting in my google drive for ages so 
> 
> Yeah.

She said it could've gone worse.

He asked _how._

While Thancred's initial reaction had been amusing, the almost bug-eyed jaw drop turned into a hate filled sneer immediately after, followed by _yelling._

The rest of the Scions' confusion followed to looks of anger shortly after, until she put her foot down. Literally. 

"I will _not_ have any rude remarks nor unbecoming behavior of you lot," Her grip on his hand tightened ever so slightly - a squeeze, as she looked up at him with a slight frown, "that goes for you too! No picking on anyone, we're gonna have a nice _family_ picnic." She donned a radiant smile, immediately calling to the _pixie king_ to help ferry all the food she had cooked, while the Scions stared, dumbfounded. Then, without a single beat missed, launched into asking where 'G'raha' was and to help set the table. As if nothing had happened. He quickly had to stifle the urge to laugh, lest he earn a swift elbow to his side. 

It didn’t take long to lay out the bounty of food she had prepared, and even with the air thick with tension, Alisaie - the snappy one of the two, he remembers - lessens it with a comment to the amount the Warrior has prepared. He could add how hard she worked on it all, how much love was poured into preparing each and every _piece_. How she remembered all of their preferences down to the amount of the most mundane things, but he holds his tongue.

The last time he had seen the Scions had been atop the remains of Amaurot, and while some of them were quick enough to ignore the state of things, Thancred had to be told "If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all." Though, he couldn't _quite_ blame them all for the wary looks and open stares. They hadn't exactly been friends when he was around, and while he had _technically_ first extended the olive branch, it wasn’t an alliance the Scions necessarily wanted. No doubt they would have been more than happy to strike him down immediately, but over time, he hoped that would have changed.

And it had, to a point.

Though the Warrior had been apprehensive at first, once she got those first few questions out of the way - _they didn’t stop afterwards._ He hadn’t expected any of them to seek him out after the icy reception within the Ocular, and even she had given him the same glare as everyone else at first, until Rak’tika. It started with a couple of questions about how he was _feeling._ The little Oracle had asked him to help them fight, and he’d flatly refused with a remark about the oppressive presence of the damned Light above, weighing him down - fighting was out of the question, accompanying them was taxing enough. 

Of course, part of it was a lie. The Light was irritating and making him drowsy, but he would be more than able to fight if need be: he was a sorcerer of eld, not some weak _whelp._

But the Warrior had taken to _nearly mothering him_ on their short walk. Always glancing his direction, then the questions about how he was feeling, “Are you tired? Should we slow down? Does the Light sting you when it touches you? Does your back hurt, you’re always a bit-”

“Stop. Coddling. The. _Ascian._ ” Thancred said suddenly, annoyance quite clear through his tone and grimace pointedly fixated on the subject of it. Emet-Selch had been at a loss on what to say at that point, the Hyur wasn’t _wrong_ in the coddling statement, though he could spin the remark as _jealousy,_ maybe. But his line of thought was interrupted when she launched into _yelling_ at the man. She’d shouted that it was important for everyone in the group to be feeling one-hundred percent or she wouldn’t force them to move, and besides, ‘the Ascian’ was here of his own choice despite not feeling well due to the Light above, and another thing-

They must have argued for a solid ten minutes, leaving him, Urianger and the girl, not named Ryne at this point, staring at them, with the occasional glance to one another to gauge reactions. It ended when she threatened to ‘kick his ass’ for _being_ an ass, and he huffed something about ‘moving on’, though his eyes never quite left Emet-Selch’s back after that - the Warrior had asked him to walk with her at the front, while Thancred stayed behind with the Elezen and little Oracle. 

She kept on with questions after that: “How do you change bodies? How many of there are you on the First? Why the pointy bits on the robes, anyway? Does it ever get caught on things? What if you scratch yourself by accident with the pointy claws? Accidents don’t happen? _Yes they do, don’t lie to me._ What did Zodiark look like?” 

And even though so many of her questions were utterly ridiculous, he would never admit that he was more than happy to answer them for her. She had come to him, again and again, all the way up until the end in Amaurot, always with a smile on her face with questions a plenty. Sometimes, she came just to chat, or simply for silent company. He asked why she sought him out, the rest of the Scions wouldn’t approve.

"M'tired of what other people think. I enjoy your company, and you _wanted_ to be allies, didn't you? What about _friends?"_

He wanted… a lot of things. 

It became more than _friends,_ of course. A light touch here and there, an ear offered for when she was hurting and couldn't share her thoughts to her Scion friends, a steady, warm embrace to soothe the hurt and… 

Oh yes, it became _much_ more than friends.

But it hadn't lasted, not with Vauthry's defeat and the overwhelming burst of Light, the final crack in her beautiful soul…

And yet, here she was. Hale and just a little more whole than before, tucked against his side, that same soft smile upon her lips she'd always worn for him, for her _friends_ , chatting away while he was deep in memories. 

He'd remained silent, still unsure of where he stood with the Scions - even _after_ she proclaimed they were _together_ and wouldn't hear anything of her choices. She used the word _partners._ Ryne, at the very least, offered a tender smile and a word of being glad for them. They picked and nibbled at much of the food, and once the Exarch - now that he knows is named G’raha - arrived, the question was finally raised.

How _was_ he here?

That mischievous smile was back on her face, the one he was becoming all too well acquainted with as of late. A single finger rises up to her mouth, in a _hush_ gesture.

Ryne continued to look utterly confused, but didn’t need to press for answers as Y’shtola was already asking what _that_ meant. But the Warrior takes her time answering, hand lowering to grab at one of the sandwiches she prepared lovingly for the twins, who he notes, had been picking at their own placed on their plates. She takes a bite, and chews slowly, letting the question hang almost uncomfortably for a moment. 

He hadn’t even known the answer to this, and did not press for an answer. She avoided it, dutifully almost, until she flat out told him to stop asking. “Not yet,” was the final answer. Firm, but never _mean._ Even though it nearly _burned_ to know, he had let it drop. It was almost easy to forget about it, almost entirely natural how life with her become a new normal again. 

But that burn is back now, intensified with the Scions around them boring into her - waiting, breath held for it in anticipation. Her smile widens one last time, bright eyes looking up at him before she leans into his side, hand back in his with another reassuring squeeze she always gives him. And then...

“I'll show you.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Will be adding more lil snippets of this kind - may even make this a series where I slap them in to, depending if I want to continue writing a WoL like this or use one of my own or not.


End file.
